1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a license plate holder at the rear panel of a vehicle body.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
Generally, a rear panel of the vehicle body is formed as a curved or stepped surface on which a license plate and illumination lamps therefor are separately mounted. Thus, the license plate cannot be mounted directly on the rear panel in a stable manner, so that it has been a conventional practice to secure on the rear panel of the vehicle body a suitable holder in the form of brackets or the like to define a plane on which the license plate is mounted. A pair of lamps for illuminating the license plate are disposed on both sides of the license plate, and mounted directly on the rear panel. To this end, the lamps must be so molded as to provide a bottom surface which conforms with the curved or stepped surface of the rear panel. Consequently, a number of types of illumination lamps must be prepared for various kinds of vehicles having different shapes or curvatures at the rear panel, which is disadvantageous from the viewpoint of parts stock control and manufacturing cost.
Such a drawback can be eliminated by a license plate holder disclosed in the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 185,475 filed on Sept. 9, 1980 by claiming the priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 116,347/79 dated Sept. 11, 1979, and assigned to the assignee of the present application.
The license plate holder according to the above-mentioned prior application is shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, and includes a plate holder member 1 affording a surface 2 which is to mount thereon a license plate (not shown) and on both sides thereof a pair of illuminating lamps 5. The plate holder member 1 has a central opening 3 which facilitates the connecting operation between connectors 10 of electrical lead wires 7 from the lamps 5, and connectors 9 of lead wires 8 from the vehicle body panel 6. The plate holder member 1 is reinforced by a flange 4 which extends along the periphery of the opening 3 and protrudes from the rear side of the member 1.
When the license plate holder is mounted on the panel 6 with the lead wires 7 and connectors 10 positioned in the opening 3, the lead wires 7 may be clamped between the edge of the flange 4 and the panel 6, by which the mechanical durability of the lead wires 7 deteriorates. Thus, the flange 4 is formed with a cutout 11 through which the lead wires 7 are passed without being clamped between the flange 4 and the panel 6.
However, formation of such a cutout in the flange is disadvantageous in the following points. Firstly, in order to accurately align the lead wires 7 with the cutout 11, the lead wires have to be fixed, e.g. adhered to the rear surface of the plate holder member or to the rear panel of the vehicle body, before the mounting operation of the license plate holder. Still, the lead wires 7 may be removed out of the cutout 11 during the positioning of the holder so that the lead wires 7 may be clamped between the rear panel and that position of the edge of the flange 4 which is not formed with the cutout. Secondly, the intended reinforcement of the holder member 1 cannot be achieved by the flange 4 formed with the cutout. The holder member 1 has a reduced rigidity against a torsional force about an axis which intersects at right angle with the longitudinal center axis of the holder member 1, and which passes the cutout 11.